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Welcome to my blog!

If you ask me what my very favourite thing is I would not hesitate to say my family. I came into motherhood quite late on, and was immediately overwhelmed with how amazing it is. Now I would like nothing more than to be a Domestic Goddess, and surround my family in love, good food, beautiful things and lots of happy memories. And like the majority of families these days, we need to do it on a budget!

I firmly believe we all have a little bit of the Domestic Goddess inside us, just waiting to break out. Whether that is knowing how to make a roast chicken feed a family of 4 for a week, being able to make, repair or recycle clothes, hunting down a bargain, or simply turning everyday, simple things into pretty or useful items, with a little bit of imagination we can all dip in to the Goddess inside and make our lives that little bit more interesting.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy sharing my (challenging) journey into Domestic Goddessness!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Testing on Animals

Anyone who knows me in 'real life' or who follows me on twitter/facebook will know that I love my cats. They were my babies before my real babies arrived and although I am not, and never will be, a crazy cat lady, (not sure my hubby would agree!) they do pretty much rule the roost. For those who don't know, I am owned by a beautifully fluffy, chunky, vociferous silver tabby and white Norwegian Forest Cat (and for more about this remarkable breed see here ) and an almost equally fluffy,equally noisy, tiny little black bundle who was rescued as a 6 month old, and whose parentage is questionable..(put simply a mog) and who has never really grown much in the 2 1/2 yrs that she has shared our home. I am quite fortunate with my kitties, in that they are not especially neurotic, nor faddy eaters, though I do suspect this is luck rather than good management.

Reilly Thomas

Hazel Alice

I was asked by Charlotte at mymonsterpetsupplies.co.uk to write a product review on some of the pet supplies they stock. As I have said already, mine are not especially fussy eaters, so I didn't expect to meet with any complaints from them when faced with food they had not had before (in fact they are quite used to having a change now and then as my poor old mum's cats were the fussiest I have ever met, and my own kitties were often the grateful recipients of food they suddenly went off and refused to eat!) I was not disappointed.

The first product I tried them with was a cat treat. Felix Goody Bag to be precise. They don't often get cat treats. Not that I am a mean moggy mummy or anything, but they tend to get little smackerels such as chicken skin, bits of tuna, ham you know what it's like when you are cooking and you have cats swirling round your feet. Needless to say they enjoyed them very much and are especially happy now that the youngest family member has figured out how to open the pet food cupboard and particularly likes to dole out the treats herself. We gave them the original flavour and found them to be not too strong smelling at all, as some can be. They are also not covered in 'dust' and don't make your hands smell which is always a bonus when using them to bribe tempt your cat to do something they are reluctant to do! I think the price is reasonable for the quality of the product, and given that it is an occasional treat. They are also much better than the cheaper varieties, which are often strong smelling. They are pretty much what I would expect from a big company such as Felix, and one I'm sure I will buy from time to time.

We also tried out some Go-cat chicken, duck and rabbit kibble. My cats are quite fond of their kibble and I always ensure they have some available to graze on through the day. That is if they manage to get to it before the dog (who, it has to be said, is quite partial to a bit of cat kibble herself, greedy girl). We have had Go-Cat before, although tend to get other brands including shops own. The price is right for the quality, it is not too strong smelling, as some can be, and seems to go down quite well. I even caught the Littlest with her hands in the cat bowl this morning so it seems that this kibble is palatable for cats, dogs and humans! (although I'm not prepared to try that out for myself!) There are different flavours available, and I note that they make a variety specially developed for indoor cats, which mine are. Whether that's a gimmick or not I don't know, but it's a great idea for those cats who are restricted and not able to find their own mice, birds, insects...you know those special presents that outdoor cats like to bring home and share with their families! My only complaint with this product, and it really is nit picking, is that the packaging is not really designed to keep the kibble fresh, I would prefer a 'resealable' pack, as some brands offer, but that really is just a niggle and wouldn't put me off buying it in the future.

The last product we tried was a completely new one for us. Gourmet perle ocean delicacies. This isn't the type of food I usually buy, in fact I rarely even look at it on the shelf in the supermarket. My cats have always been happy with cheaper options so I have never considered buying these, or similar more 'premium' cat foods. I was impressed with the flavours, which seemed interesting and as if they had been thought about, and not just normal plain chicken, or tuna that we usually buy. The food itself looks appetising as well and contains flakes of fish. The cats certainly enjoyed them, and I don't think they preferred one flavour over another, they seemed happy with all of them. They are slightly smaller than other pouches and contain about 15g less per pouch, so I did end up giving them more than I would usually do. Not really cost effective in this economic climate, but if I do find myself with a few extra pennies in my purse and think they deserve a treat then I might just buy them again. I would also consider getting them if either of the cats are unwell, or recovering from an op for instance as they seem to be easier to digest. My greedy tom sometime gobbles at his food so quickly he is sick afterwards, but I have noticed he hasn't done whilst eating these.

Just a word about the packaging in which I received my items. It was delivered quite quickly, within a few days, and was double boxed. A lot of care had obviously been taken when parceling up and sending out, which is a small detail but one that is very important if you ask me. It shows that the sender cares enough about their product and their customer to ensure it gets there in one piece and in good condition. Can't say that for every company I have dealt with recently unfortunately!

No makes this time, although things have been made, I promise! But I've been busy getting the family ready for a long awaited holiday. Normal service will resume when I'm back from my break. In the meantime don't forget to go over to see Wendy on Monday for Handmade Harbour, you know where to find the link!

4 comments:

Love the photos.How did you get them to sit still long enough?!My cats are going through a fussy eating patch at the moment so maybe I need to try some of the food you mentioned.I'm sure they'd love a bit of gourmet!

I'm afraid I lost mine 3 weeks ago :( he was 19 1/2, despite FIV, a very big cat, and well till the last month or so. We fed him mostly Purina One Sensitive. Oh my, he adored it. He liked James Wellbeloved too, their kibble is v high quality, high meat content. They also do wet food now. He liked the turkey. He also had a bit of our dinner too, especially chicken (pref. raw!) pork or cod LOL!!!! ANyway, feed 'em well, and they will stay with you a good long while!!!